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UPDATED: Christie chief of staff says Bridget Kelly insisted she had no role in lane closings

Christie Chief of Staff O’Dowd testifies about dinner with David Sampson as Bridgegate brokeKevin O’Dowd, chief of staff to Gov. Chris Christie, testified on June 9, 2014 before the New Jersey Legislative Select Committee on Investigation in its probe of the September 2013 closing of George Washington Bridge local toll lanes in Fort Lee. In this clip. O’Dowd describes having dinner with former Port Authority Executive Director David Sampson as the scandal begins to erupt, but says he can’t recall any conversation the two had about the issue. (video by Brian Donohue / The Star-Ledger)

TRENTON — The chief of staff to Gov. Chris Christie, Kevin O'Dowd, today told the state legislative panel investigating the George Washington Bridge lane closings that he had "no prior knowledge of" and "played no role in" the politically charged matter.

In about two hours of testimony this morning, O'Dowd also recounted when, in December, he first learned one of his subordinates, Deputy Chief of Staff Bridget Anne Kelly, may be involved, and how she told him in no uncertain terms that she was not.

Weeks later, an email surfaced linking Kelly and David Wildstein, a Christie ally at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, with the decision to close the lanes.

"I would like to start my appearance today by making very clear to the committee that I had no prior knowledge of, or played no role in, the decision to close the lanes at the bridge last September," O'Dowd said in a brief opening statement.

Assemblyman John Wisniewski (D-Middlesex), a co-chairman of the panel, led the first portion of questioning and largely recapped what O'Dowd told attorneys with Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, the law firm that conducted an internal review of Christie's office.

Nothing O'Dowd said shed any new light on the motivation for the lane closings, or who was ultimately to blame. He said he first learned Kelly may have been involved when he spoke to the governor at the governor's mansion in Princeton on Dec. 12.

"He said to me something to the effect of, this bridge issue is still out there, the noise on political retribution is still out there, this is a major distraction, I need you to talk to Bridget Kelly and ask her whether or not she had anything to do with closing the lanes," O'Dowd testified.

Christie has maintained that he knew nothing about the plan to close the lanes.

O'Dowd recalled how Kelly told him directly that she had no involvement, and he said he believed her because of his high opinion of her and their past interactions. But he said the next day, he learned that there may be some documents linking her to the closings.

Christie Chief of Staff O’Dowd grilled on governor’s “inconsistent” Bridgegate statementKevin O’Dowd chief of staff to Gov. Chris Christie, testified before the New Jersey Legislative Select Committee on Investigation in its probe of the closing of George Washington Bridge lanes in Sept. 2013. Near the end of the more than seven plus hours of questioning, O’Dowd testifies he turned over to Christie a key email sent between top staffers during the closures on Dec. 13. Despite the email, Christie publicly state during a press conference later that day that his staff had no knowledge of the closures. (video by Brian Donohue / The Star-Ledger)

Less than an hour before Christie held a news conference stating no one on his staff had any role in the matter, Kelly provided O'Dowd an email message from Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich indicating she had contemporaneous knowledge of the closings.

O'Dowd said he was surprised to be learning of the email more than 90 days after it had been sent, but said Kelly remained insistent she had nothing to do with the closings. He said he informed Christie of the e-mail before the governor held the news conference.

"I wasn’t [concerned] because she wasn’t concerned," O'Dowd said. "Nothing in this interaction changed her very, very clear indication to me that she didn’t have anything to do with the lane closures."

O'Dowd also testified about his meeting with former Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Deputy Executive DIrector Bill Baroni telling him that his last day would be Dec. 13, and how Christie political strategist Mike DuHaime would be willing to hire him.

Nothing has linked O'Dowd with the decision to close the lanes, and state Senate Democrats said last week they will consider taking up his nomination to be the state's next attorney general barring any major revelations during his testimony.

He would replace acting Attorney General John Hoffman.

O'Dowd supervised Kelly, whom Christie fired after emails implicated her and Wildstein in the lane closings. He is highest-ranking member of Christie's staff to testify before the legislative committee, and the fourth current or former staffer overall to testify.

The panel has also heard from Christie's press secretary, Drewniak, his former staffer and campaign organizer, Matthew Mowers, and his former director of intergovernmental affairs, Christina Genovese Renna.